Hall of Fame

About the Award

The NDU CIC Hall of Fame, established in 2012, was designed to honor two categories of individuals - Alumni and Advocates. Specifically, Alumni recipients have attained significant positions in career leadership by using their education at the NDU CIC. Selected graduates of the college’s certificate programs or Master of Science Degree will be honored for their achievements in accordance with the Hall of Fame guidelines for alumni. The second category, Advocates, have distinguished themselves through sustained contributions, support, and/or advancement of the college. Chosen Advocates are recognized as having given significant and enduring support to the college that has resulted a significant contribution to the college's ability to perform its mission. Potential Hall of Fame recipients are nominated annually by CIC faculty and staff, and a committee reviews each application, discusses the merits of each nominee, and recommends Hall of Fame honorees to the CIC leadership team who makes the final selection.

Recipients

2016 – Ms. Melissa Hathaway

Distinguished Advocate - As President of Hathaway Global Strategies LLC and Senior Advisor at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center (Aug 2009 – Present), Ms. Hathaway brings a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional perspective to strategic consulting and strategy formulation. She advises the U.S. and partner nation governments, global organizations and private industry on risk management, technology investments, cyber strategy, and policy. Melissa serves as a strategic advisor to a number of Fortune 500 companies. In the government sector, she provides strategic advice to the U.S. Government, NATO, the Organization of American States, and the European Commission, as well as numerous governments around the world as they develop and refine their national strategies for cybersecurity. In 2009, as the Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace, National Security Council, she was asked to lead the 60-Day Cyberspace Policy Review for President Obama. Melissa assembled a team of experienced government cyber experts, inventoried relevant documentation, and identified over 250 needs/tasks, and engaged in more than 40 meetings with industry, academia, and government agencies. Prior to this, Melissa was the Cyber Coordination Executive and Director, Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force, Office of the Director of National Intelligence where she built a broad coalition from within the Executive Branch for two Presidents. Because of her significant and enduring recognition as one of the U.S. leading cyber security experts and her direct involvement in making our college grow to the leading school in DoD for cyber security education, Melissa was selected as the 2016 CIC Hall of Fame recipient.

2015 –Mr. Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia

Distinguished Alumnus - Beginning Fall 2014, Mr. Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia has been serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury overseeing a $ 3.5 Billion IT Portfolio. Prior to this position, Sonny had an advisory position in the State of Hawaii Government from 2011-2014 reporting directly to the Governor. As the Governor’s Chief Advisor on Technology and Cybersecurity, Sonny published a comprehensive plan aligning Hawaii with the President’s National Cybersecurity Framework. As State’s First CIO, he led the business and technology transformation for the State, with a comprehensive plan and Top 10 enterprise programs. Sonny served as Deputy Associate Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration from 2010-2011, helping the Federal CIO and CTO implement Digital Government Programs with Government-wide impact. Within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Sonny served from 2007-2010 as DOI CIO, where he oversaw a $1B IT Portfolio and modernized the DOI’s diverse IT environment under its top-rated Enterprise Architecture Program. Sonny’s service in high-level government positions, receipt of the U.S. Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, and multi-year recognition on the Federal 100 Award provides inspiration and motivation to our students and faculty alike. These types of achievements are exactly what we hope our CIC alumni will accomplish in their careers.

2015 - Ms. Joyce France

Distinguished Advocate - Joyce M. France is a senior consultant servicing in the areas of information resources, technology management and IT /cyber personnel management. She retired as a Senior Executive with the Office of the Department of Defense Chief Information Office, DoD (CIO). Joyce has over 30 years of extensive experience in the Information Resources and Technology Management arenas. She entered the senior executive service as the Director for the Information Management & IT/Information Management Workforce Directorate in 2004. In this capacity, she was responsible for DoD-wide strategic planning; governance administration and policy, DoD-wide IT workforce management and IT/IA education and training, the National Defense University’s (NDU) College of Information and Cyberspace CIO curriculum; DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution process for the Deputy CIO (Information Enterprise); DoD Web site administration policy; DoD Privacy Impact Assessments; DoD information collections and reporting; capital planning and investment control and DoD Section 508 implementation, providing individuals with disabilities access to DoD electronic information. Because of ongoing recognition of the important role the college plays in developing highly-skilled DoD and Federal information leaders, past guidance and advice on our various educational programs, and long-term funding support, Joyce France was honored with the Hall of Fame award.

2014 - LtGen Atanas Zaprianov

Distinguished Alumnus - Lieutenant General Atanas Zaprianov started his military carrier as a platoon commander in the 95TH Signal Regiment in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In 1979 he joined the Military Communications and Information Systems College in Sankt Petersburg, Russia, graduating in 1982. From 1982 to 1994, Lt. Gen. Zaprianov served different positions in the Signal (Troops) Corps of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, starting with the chief of staff of 95th Signal Regiment, deputy commander of 95th Signal Regiment, assistant at the Signal Directorate of the Land Forces Headquarters and chief of department at the Communications and Information Systems Directorate of the General Staff. From 1995-99, he served as the Chief of Staff and Deputy Director at the Communications and Information Systems Directorate of the General Staff. In 1999 he was assigned as the Director of the Communications and Information Systems Directorate and promoted to the rank of Major General. In 2001, he attended and graduated from the College of Information and Cyberspace (CIC), National Defense University, Washington DC. During his long military service in the Bulgarian Armed Forces, he has served as: Head of Communications and Information Systems Directorate (J-6) of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces; Commandant of the National Defense College; Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces for Resources Management; and National Military Representative to NATO and EU Military Committees. After his retirement, he served as an Advisor to the Bulgarian Minister of Defense (2010-2013). For his achievements and contributions to the Bulgarian Armed Forces, he has been awarded many medals and orders, including for Military Merit First Grade. Lt. Gen. Zaprianov is a shining example of what the CIC’s international alumni can accomplish.

2013 - Honorable John G. Grimes

Distinguished Advocate – The Honorable John G. Grimes was nominated by President Bush in 2005 and sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (ASD NII) / Department of Defense Chief Information Officer (CIO), serving in this position until 2009. His public service also included five years on the White House National Security Council Staff as Director for National Security Telecommunications Policy, Director of Defense Command, Control and communications Programs, and Senior Director White House Situation Support Staff from 1984 to 1990. John served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Defense-wide Command, Control and Communications and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counterintelligence and Security Countermeasures from 1990 to 1994. He held senior leadership positions with the National Communications System, Defense Communications Agency, and various U.S. Army Communications organizations following his military service in the U.S. Air Force. In his role as ASD NII/DOD CIO, he supported the CIC for several years by ensuring that funding for the college’s CIO Certificate program and other programs was provided. John was a frequent advisor to the NDU CIC Chancellor, meeting with the college’s leadership team often and providing guidance on program changes, upcoming technologies, DOD policy advice, and other related matters. He worked on behalf of the college for several years to connect us internationally and help us define “soft power” as a key area for the college.

2012 - Mr. Steve Cooper

Distinguished Advocate – Mr. Steve Cooper is the current CIO for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to this position, Steve was a founding partner of Strativest, a firm focused on identifying emerging technologies applicable to homeland security, providing management advisory services for the strategic use of information and communications technology for competitive advantage. Earlier in his career, he was Director, Information Technology, and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO). In late 2005, Mr. Cooper was asked to join the American Red Cross (ARC) as the Senior Vice President and CIO and was responsible for the Information Technology (IT) assets of the Red Cross and leveraging them to support the humanitarian organization’s 35,000 employees and the 300 million Americans they serve. In 2003, Steve was appointed by President George W. Bush as the first CIO of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Early in 2002, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and also served as Senior Director for Information Integration in the White House Office of Homeland Security. Steve has always been a great supporter of the NDU CIC. He completed several CIC courses and ever since has been promoting the college’s programs. In addition, he has been a guest speaker in several courses, sharing his knowledge and experience in both the government and private sectors with CIC students. Steve is always willing to go above-and-beyond to support the college.